machine

machine

1. an assembly of interconnected components arranged to transmit or modify force in order to perform useful work

2. a device for altering the magnitude or direction of a force, esp a lever, screw, wedge, or pulley

3. a mechanically operated device or means of transport, such as a car, aircraft, etc.

4. any mechanical or electrical device that automatically performs tasks or assists in performing tasks

5. (esp in the classical theatre) a device such as a pulley to provide spectacular entrances and exits for supernatural characters

6. an event, etc., introduced into a literary work for special effect

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

machine

[mə′shēn]

(computer science)

A mechanical, electric, or electronic device, such as a computer, tabulator, sorter, or collator.

A simplified, abstract model of an internally programmed computer, such as a Turing machine.

(mechanical engineering)

A combination of rigid or resistant bodies having definite motions and capable of performing useful work.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Machine

A combination of rigid or resistant bodies having definite motions and capable of performing useful work. The term mechanism is closely related but applies only to the physical arrangement that provides for the definite motions of the parts of a machine. For example, a wristwatch is a mechanism, but it does no useful work and thus is not a machine. Machines vary widely in appearance, function, and complexity from the simple hand-operated paper punch to the ocean liner, which is itself composed of many simple and complex machines. See Machinery, Simple machine

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Engineering. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

machine

Common term for "computer", usually when considered at the hardware level. The Turing Machine, an early example of this usage, was however neither hardware nor software, but only an idea.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

machine

Any electronic or electromechanical unit of equipment. A machine is always hardware; however, "engine" may refer to hardware or software. See engine.

The term can sound old fashioned or high-tech. For example, when an older generation is subjected to a new technology, a new device is often called a machine. In times past, even a microphone was called a machine. However, "machine language" is 21st century terminology, and "machine architecture," "machine tools" and other "machine" terminology is not at all antiquated.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Machine

 

a device that performs mechanical motions for the conversion of energy or the processing of materials and information. Three types of machines are distinguished, depending on the basic purpose (the predominant kind of conversion): power, operating, and information machines.

Power machines used for conversion of any kind of energy into mechanical energy are called engines. They include electric motors, turbines, and internal-combustion, piston, and steam engines. Electric generators are also a widely used type of power machine.

Operating machines are subdivided into technological and transportation machines. In technological machines the “material” is the object on which operations are performed (the workpiece, which may be solid, liquid, or gaseous). The processing of material in these machines is a change in shape, properties, state, and position. In transportation machines the “material” is the object being moved; its “conversion” consists only of a change in position. Technological machines include metal working machines, rolling mills, looms, packing machines, typesetting machines, and printing presses. Transportation machines include motor vehicles, diesel locomotives, airplanes, helicopters, elevators, and conveyors.

Information machines are used in data processing. If the information is presented in digital form, the machine is called a calculator or computer (for example, calculators, mechanical integrators, and accounting machines). Strictly speaking, an electronic computer is not a machine, since mechanical motion in it is used only to carry out auxiliary operations (the designation of the computer as a machine was preserved as the historic successor of calculating machines of the arithmometer type).

Machines in which all conversions of energy, material, or information are executed without direct human participation are called automatic machines or simply automatons. The aggregate of automatic machines connected in sequence and used to carry out a certain technological process is an automatic transfer machine. A correctly used machine, particularly an automatic machine, makes human labor easier, increases labor productivity, and ensures high quality of production.

I. I. ARTOBOLEVSKII and N. I. LEVITSKII

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.